<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Tomorrow by lesbianiconjasontodd</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273181">Tomorrow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianiconjasontodd/pseuds/lesbianiconjasontodd'>lesbianiconjasontodd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dress Up! Time Princess, Dress Up! Time Princess (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, The Fluffiest Fluff I Have Ever Fluffed, also brief mention of plague, jokes about murder! but in a fun way, minor shadows of london spoilers, or whatever vampire nonsense is going on here, romance route for yet another 2d character, stop giving us cute side characters with no romance route challenge, this goes out to the castle guard and paris fans</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:40:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,328</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273181</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianiconjasontodd/pseuds/lesbianiconjasontodd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“What did we agree on--art gallery?”<br/>Caroline narrowed her eyes. “I’ve a sneaking suspicion you’re not taking me anywhere nearly that respectable.”<br/>“A very astute observation. Ride like the wind, Harold!”<br/>(A non-canon romance route for Jesse Lindvall, another casualty to our dream of attaining the unattainable: romancing the secondary characters in a dress up game. This one's for the Castle Guard and Count Paris fans.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Caroline Rayes/Jesse Lindvall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tomorrow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>London gathered fog off the harbor close, cold and dim, the morning of Caroline’s arranged outing with Mr. Lindvall. Under normal circumstances, Aunt Petit would never let her niece leave in such horrid weather, but a date was no ordinary event. The way she saw it, preventing Caroline from attending meant actively blocking her way to a bright and happy future, a grave error in any young lady’s life that certainly must be avoided at all costs.</p><p>“I’m alright to stay here,” the girl protested when she informed her of the afternoon’s plans. “I wouldn’t want to take unnecessary risks for something so silly--”</p><p>“Silly? Darling, this is your future at stake,” Aunt Petit reprimanded. “Every risk taken is a necessity.”</p><p>“He’s got a chronic cold, aunt. Mr. Lindvall and Doctor Grey may be thrilled to take the day off.”</p><p>The woman scoffed. “Nonsense. Any gentleman would be lucky to see a lady such as yourself on any day.”</p><p>Caroline bent over her boots to pull the laces tighter. “If we get lost in the fog and never come back, I hope you know I’m haunting your house,” she mumbled. The woman ignored the dismal remark for her niece’s sake and instructed the maid to notify her immediately upon their guest’s arrival.</p><p>The young man turned up promptly at three with a waiting carriage and a bright smile. He greeted her warmly and offered an arm to Caroline straight away, commenting “You look lovely in fall shades. I’ll have her back in one piece, Madam, no worries at all.” Her niece shot her one last look before stepping outside, ready for a lovely time against her will.</p><p>He helped her into the carriage silently enough to make the girl suspicious. When she turned back to question him, the charming smile had widened into the grin of someone about to get into trouble. “I’m glad your aunt let you out today,” he said, jumping in to sit opposite her on the velvet benches. “What did we agree on--art gallery?”</p><p>She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve a sneaking suspicion you’re not taking me anywhere nearly that respectable.”</p><p>“A very astute observation. Ride like the wind, Harold!” he called up to the driver.</p><p>They settled into an easy rhythm of banter, discussing the weather--“Wet and awful, why do we live here again?”--the recent tea party they’d met at--“I love your aunt, Caroline, but you really must keep her out of the recipe books.”--and the social calendar they were both expected to fill their days with--“Who can honestly stand that blasted string quartet she keeps hiring, the cellist alone is enough to kill a man, much less a party.” Caroline relaxed enough to tease him back after a surprisingly short time, which delighted the young man to no end and prompted him to confide in her all the jokes he’d saved that flew straight over Doctor Grey’s head.</p><p>“Was this your whole plan for the afternoon, Mr. Lindvall?” she finally asked. “Are we to drive around the whole of London gossiping about our peers until Harold finds his way back to my aunt’s?”</p><p>“Mr. Lindvall sounds so formal,” the gentleman groaned. “Just call me Jesse; everyone else does.”</p><p>Caroline smiled, ducking her head to her lap so he wouldn’t see it and feel smug. “Alright. Jesse, then. I’d tell you to just call me Caroline, but you’ve done that from the start anyway. You’re not too keen on formalities, are you?”</p><p>“Polite society is stifling, my dear. The more I keep up its illusions in my private life, the more suffocating it becomes.” He perked up as the carriage passed into the Eastern District. “What do you say we spend an afternoon rule breaking? I know this lovely corner of the world where polite society will never find us.”</p><p>Glancing out the window nervously, she caught the gaze of something lurking in the shadows of an alleyway. “I’m not so sure about that,” she said hesitantly. “Stifling as it may be, at least it’s familiar. I haven’t been to the Eastern District since I was a child.”</p><p>Jesse snapped his fingers. “That’s right! Your aunt said you grew up here before your parents...before moving to the country. Perhaps we can visit your old home,” he suggested brightly.</p><p>The thought of seeing the place her parents had lived, the place where they’d loved her, felt unbearably tempting. But she knew it was more than that: if her dreams were correct, her childhood home was also the place they had died. Everything in her shrank from the idea--everything but that little voice in the back of her mind that tugged on hidden memories. What if this was the only way she would find answers?</p><p>“Alright,” she agreed. “If we get murdered in the street, though, I’m telling my aunt it was your idea.”</p><p>“So dark for a lady of impeccable taste. If anything, I’ll be murdered protecting you from whatever it is and you’ll feel so guilty and heartbroken you’ll have no choice but to tell the world of my heroic rescue.” He clasped her hands and stared soulfully into her eyes. “Don’t cry for me, my dear; though I know you’ll never love again after knowing me, I shan’t stop you from moving on with any man much uglier and stupider than I.”</p><p>Caroline bit her lip to hold back her laughter and gazed dramatically into the distance. “At least I know Doctor Grey will keep me company in my darkest days,” she sighed wistfully.</p><p>Jesse barked a sudden laugh, unable to keep the act together. “He would too, that bastard. As if it’s not enough for him to be smart, charitable, and tragic all at once, he has to go and be handsome on top of it all. I did mention uglier and stupider, yes?”</p><p>She personally found Jesse far more interesting and attractive than the doctor, or anyone else she had met in London for that matter, but she held off telling him to keep his ego from filling the remaining space in the carriage. Instead, she turned the conversation back to their afternoon of rule breaking. “I don’t remember much from living here,” she confessed. “How do you plan on finding our way?”</p><p>“Asking directions?” he suggested. When she rolled her eyes, he amended “Talking to locals. There’s bound to be someone here who remembers your parents.” He rapped on the ceiling for Harold to stop and leaned over to open the door. Caroline, too nervous to pay attention, reached for the handle as well, and they grabbed it at the same moment. She pulled back, embarrassed, but Jesse moved to grab her fingers again with a laugh. He looked very much like he wanted to say something clever and opened his mouth, eyes sparkling.</p><p>Just then, a knock from the driver startled them apart. “Heading out, sir?” Harold called down.</p><p>Jesse’s ears flushed pink. “You bet we are, my good man.” This time, Caroline clasped her hands tightly in her lap as he opened the carriage door and jumped out. When their hands touched again to help her down the step, the spark from before vanished as if it had never been.</p><p>“Where to first, Miss Rayes?”</p><p>***</p><p>Kind though the gesture was, their search for clues turned up nothing more than rumors of rumors and whispers of the spreading disease. Locals gave their clothing strange looks for standing out so far from the plain working dresses and ragged jackets they wore; if their questions hadn’t garnered the pair unwelcome attention, their class difference certainly did the job. Caroline pushed ahead as long as she could stand it, but finally her aching feet convinced her to stop.</p><p>“We should go,” she told Jesse quietly as he said goodbye to another vaguely threatening older man. “It’s getting late and I don’t want to worry my aunt.”</p><p>“I’d die before giving her reason to stop setting us up,” he teased. “Right you are, though, any later and we’ll have to stop making jokes about getting murdered--she’ll actually do it.”</p><p>Caroline nodded, then paused. “She asked you to come? I thought this was your idea.”</p><p>He shrugged. “I mean, the activity clearly was, but your aunt invited me. Good thing too, I’d never get up the nerve to ask you myself.”</p><p>“Don’t joke. I thought--oh, never mind what I thought. Where do we meet the carriage?” She walked off without waiting for his reply, looking away sternly to hide her red cheeks. Had she really thought his interest in her was anything beyond social grace? Why did she even care? Wasn’t she just finding reasons this morning to avoid seeing him in the first place?</p><p>Jesse caught up to her easily, concern written in his furrowed brow and searching eyes. “What did I do? Edward says I can be senseless around women, so I’m sorry for offending--”</p><p>“You didn’t,” she interrupted, turning her face away again to stare the other way down the street. When he circled to try and catch her eye, she smiled too wide and said “I’m fine, Mr. Lindvall. Thank you for the afternoon, but I really must be headed home now.” She wanted to leave as quickly as possible and never come out of her room again.</p><p>Instead of directing to the carriage that had to be somewhere, the boy caught her elbow and pulled her to face him. “Caroline. Please tell me what’s wrong. I’d like to help--”</p><p>“I said I’m fine,” she snapped. “Your help is appreciated but unwanted. You have my apologies for keeping you out so long; even if it was my aunt’s intention to force my company, it certainly isn’t mine, and you’ve done your duty too well.”</p><p>“My duty?” he echoed, puzzled. A second later, his expression cleared and he laughed again, loud and helpless. “My dear, do you think Madam Petit coerced me into visiting you?”</p><p>“You just said--”</p><p>“I said she invited me, yes, but I also said she did so before I gathered the courage to invite myself. Caroline, I am inescapably invested in seeing you as often as I possibly can, your aunt’s intentions be damned.” When she continued to stare, he added incredulously “Have I not been glaringly obvious? It’s taken everything in me not to ask to kiss you all day.”</p><p>Caroline laughed loudly, covering her mouth with both hands at the echo bounding down the emptying street. She could feel her cheeks flushing pink with surprised embarrassment. “I told you I’m not used to polite society,” she defended herself. “How was I to know you were flirting?”</p><p>“Flirting is a very kind word for the effort I’ve expended trying to catch your attention. You really haven’t noticed what an utter buffoon I become in your presence?”</p><p>“I thought you were like that all the time!”</p><p>He threw his arms wide and exclaimed “See? Imagine if I’d actually tried to kiss you and you still thought me a buffoon!”</p><p>She couldn’t stop giggling. “I hardly think kissing me would change anything,” she protested. “Perhaps the lady prefers buffoons.”</p><p>“Does she?” he asked, stepping in closer and taking her hands in his. “Because I would very much like to kiss you.”</p><p>“Then stop talking about it already and kiss me, will you?”</p><p>Without waiting for him to make up his mind, Caroline leaned in. Her mouth met his and when she kissed him, it felt as though the spark from the carriage had come back and set her skin ablaze. She hadn’t realized how badly she’d wanted the same thing and, like a pair of idiots, they’d gone the entire afternoon pretending otherwise. Why had she ever wanted to stay home this morning?</p><p>Jesse pulled away first, reluctantly. His hands had somehow found her hair and undone the wrapped braid so it fell over one shoulder in a thick rope. He twisted a loose strand between his fingers and kissed it, looking back at her through his eyelashes, almost shyly. “Caroline,” he said, then stopped. There didn’t seem to be anything more he wanted to say.</p><p>“Finally,” she teased, a laugh still in her voice, “I’ve figured out how to keep you quiet.”</p><p>“Lack of oxygen to the brain. Can’t talk if you’ve taken my breath away.”</p><p>“Oh, hush.” She kissed him again, stealing one of his many smiles for her own lips. “Aunt Petit’s going to throw a fit when she sees the state of me,” she suddenly realized. “What time is it?”</p><p>“Who cares?” Jesse replied. “If she won’t invite me back, I’m sure the other lady of the house will let me in.”</p><p>They found their way back to the quieter streets outside the Eastern District and easily tracked down Harold waiting with the carriage. The pair sat close on the ride back, Jesse attempting to fix her hair and Caroline directing his efforts while she brushed dust and wrinkles from her skirt. He surprised her with another kiss as Harold pulled up outside her home.</p><p>“What was that for?” she asked before he opened the door.</p><p>He grinned. “For next time. Something to think about during those etiquette lessons.”</p><p>She accepted his help out into the street and up the walk to the door. “When can I see you again? Tomorrow?”</p><p>“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow again,” he agreed. “Sleep well, Miss Rayes.”</p><p>“Call me Caroline,” she called after him with a smile. “Good night, Jesse.” She watched him return to the carriage, his eyes sparkling, and all the way down the street until the sight of him disappeared into the fog.</p><p>Anna opened the door behind her. “Miss? It’s dreadful cold out, won’t you come in? Madam wishes to see you.”</p><p>Caroline brushed back a wisp of hair from her forehead. “I’m not cold. I don’t think I’ll feel cold for some time tonight.” She followed the maid inside, already thinking about tomorrow.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>